Guide to Choosing and Selecting a Violin (for the first time)
How do we Price our Instruments?
At Belcanto Violins, we price our instruments based on 2 factors: 1) maker’s experience & 2) wood quality. Of course, the longer the maker’s experience and better the wood quality and aging of the wood, the better the sound. We team our makers according to our series, our makers in bv5 and 7 series would have more experience than those of bv1 or 3 series for example. As the series progresses, the original tonewoods, we purchase would also correlate with the price and quality. Be assured that our instruments are well valued at an international standard and please note that they should not lose their value as long as you upkeep the instrument well.
How do I upkeep my instrument?
- Always tissue off your rosin and perspiration from your strings and violin after use.
- Always leave a desiccant in your case if you live in a humid country and leave the violin in a room with a humidifier if you live in a drier climate.
- Loosen your bow when not in use.
Before even learning the violin, you may want to purchase one to try out yourself. These days with online violin tutorials you will be able to learn a far bit without formal lessons.
Here is some advice I can give in selecting a new or second hand violin.
PRICE
This is always important as violins can start at $100USD new and into the millions. So it is important to set a budget for yourself. Obviously, the higher the budget the more options you would have. On the other hand, the higher the price does not mean the better the violin. For example, if you are at an auction house, a $15,000 violin bow could sound out just as good as a $5000 violin bow due to its history and maker. Most importantly, it’s best to set yourself a budget that you would like to spend on your new found hobby without burning a hole in your pocket.
At Belcanto Violins we do make sure that our Violin Series 1-7 are priced comprehensively according to the quality and sound of each instrument to make selection easy for our customers even if they have to purchase them online.
APPEARANCE
Colour and lines
I’m not trying to be superficial, but it is important that you like the way your violin looks. There are many shades of varnish your violin could be in, some skew to being more reddish, some brown, dark brown or even orange. The varnish colour does not affect the sound at all but if you are a first timer on this instrument you may want to choose something pleasing to your eyes. (since it will be sometime before you will be able to play something pleasing to your ears )
On violins for a more advanced student from BV3 series onwards or our BV1 special edition, there are also natural wood lines (like a tiger back) some are closer together and thinner and some are broader and further apart. This is a matter of taste and completely subjective to each individual.
Cracks
Important factors while checking the appearance besides the shade of wood you would like your violin to be, would be to check for cracks. If there are minor and superficial chips and varnish flaws it may be acceptable as we are working with natural wood, and a used instrument would have naturally have some evidence of being played. While major cracks may be expensive to repair.
This is especially important when checking on a second hand instrument or antique piece. Be rest assured our violins on consignment or Antique Instruments have been thoroughly checked by our European Luthiers and will come with the warranty that they are free from cracks and damage.
Fingerboard and f Holes (sound holes)
Next, check if the fingerboard is straight and glued on well and if you are getting a second hand violin, make sure that the fingerboard is not too worn out, when you move your hand up and down the board there shouldn’t be too many grooves and crevices along it and should be smooth. Make sure that the f holes are symmetrical on the same level. You could use a ruler at this time to assist you in case of a parallax error.
Bridge
And how is the level of the bridge? Too high or too low as this will affect the sound. Note that the bridge of the violin is not glued onto the violin and if you are at a specialist violin shop, you could ask them to carve it to a suitable level. To deduce this, simply bow on the 4 strings to check for buzzing sounds which may be an indication that the bridge may be too low and is vibrating against the fingerboard. If you have some prior skill and are able to press onto the strings you could test the height of the strings by pressing on them. If on the higher registers there is too much resistance, then the bridge may be too high or either the fingerboard angle may have sunken due to humidity. An unsuitable bridge level is the most common problem that I encounter with my students’ violins.
Pegs and Fine Tuners
Move the pegs gently clockwise and anti clockwise. If you can move them in a way that they are smooth and the strings can hold its tune, then the pegs will not require any peg soap for lubricating them or chalk to make them have more resistance to stay put. Make sure of this before you purchase your new or second hand instrument as tuning is very important to learn the violin well and correctly.
As for fine tuners, most Professionals only have at most two fine tuners on their violins as the fine tuners do affect the sound and weight of the instrument. At a beginner level, I would recommend to use a tailpiece with inbuilt fine tuners, especially more so for students with smaller instruments half size and below as tuning the instrument will be easier and less frustrating on the long run. We have incorporated fine tuner tailpieces into our BV1 series. Do also make sure you move the fine tuners clockwise and anticlockwise to test that they work fine and do not require oiling or a change.
Sound
Now that you have established that the violin is something you like to see and proud of to display, you will need to test the sound which is equally if not more important. A violin’s sound does differ in different players’ hands so it is best even though you may have no experience in playing the instrument to try it out yourself (or for your child).
If absolutely you cannot play the violin, get someone to demonstrate it for you. We have embedded our audio clips in our catalogue for your choosing purposes. All clips have been played by the same person to ensure accuracy.
Chinrest
There are so many types of chinrests and as our physiques differ, do find one that is most comfortable for you. Make sure that the angle of the chinrests is comfortable and suitable for you individually. Do make sure that you test out the chinrest of the violin with a suitable shoulder rest that you are comfortable in. Our chinrests have been specially designed to angle at a certain curvature for the player to have the most comfortable and best playing posture. We also have an array of recommended shoulder rests at our Accessories Page to compliment with the chinrest support.
Bow
The more advanced violins may not come with a bow as this is a separate art completely. Someone who makes the violin is called a Luthier while someone who makes the bow is called an Archetier. However, if your violin comes with a bow. Make sure that it is straight. You can put it on a table and see if it is level. Make sure too that the horse hairs are sufficient and clean. On cheaper bows, it is not cost effective to change the hairs and would be actually cheaper to buy a new bow than to rehair. Do note not to touch the hairs of the bow as human oils from our fingers will affect the way rosin sticks onto the bow and is an irreversible effect.
At the most basic BV1 series bow we make sure that it is made robust and strong with a thicker yet light structure. We also have added hairs for a lasting quality. Our other bows are made from specially selected Brazil and pernambuco woods to ensure responsiveness and dynamic quality of sound.
Hairs of the different series bows are also carefully selected and sourced to ensure that the bows grip firmly on the strings and are good quality and lasting.